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Thursday, February 08, 2018

A Dose Of Disney - Epcot

Our second day started out bright and early again. The entrance to Epcot went a little smoother as we were falling into a routine. Those without bags went one way and those with another, and had them checked by security.

"Looks like good stuff in there," the security person said.

"Only the best--peanut butter and jelly," I answered and he chuckled.

Our plan was to head to The Land first and ride Soarin' which is a popular ride, usually with a long wait. But all plans were laid aside as we passed the character set where you could meet Mickey, Goofy and Minnie. The line was very short and we knew it would grow. Grandpa sighed. I reassured him it would all work out in the end.

And it did. Soarin' did not have a terribly long line and while the older ones did that, the 3 y/o and I watched a movie about saving our natural world. Afterwards we all rode the boat through The Land and enjoyed the innovations that always seem to be changing.

Talking to Crush and seeing the sights with Nemo are a couple of favorites. I still cannot figure out how Crush sees and reacts and carries on a conversation as if he were real. Magic.

Of course a visit to Epcot isn't complete without a ride on the Test Track and now, with three young girls, a visit to Norway where the new ride Frozen has opened and you can meet the two sisters from the film. The character visit took a while but the guys filled the time with a ride in the nearby Mexican pavilion. The Frozen ride was quite a long wait for all of us and our young one especially. She was getting tired. Eventually we made it to the ride and enjoyed it.

There were other things to see and explore and among them was one of the places our grandson had researched and wanted to see. It's called Club Cool and is near the Imagination ride. Sponsored by Coca Cola, it is full of Coke merchandise as well as several fountains of drinks from around the world that you can sample for free. Needless to say, the floor was a bit sticky with kids excitedly sampling as much as Mom and Dad would let them.

The only dinner reservation Bob could find in Epcot was at the Chinese restaurant, Nine Dragons and was at 4:15. While it seemed a bit early by the time we were all settled and served, it was dinner time. The kids enjoyed the white rice and pot stickers but I don't think the adults enjoyed their meals as much. Our fried rice was bland and had a lot of chicken that didn't seem to have any flavor.
After dinner we strolled around a bit waiting on the evening fireworks show. My daughter-in-law and I went to a stand to get some coffee and the kids followed us. When the fellow in the stand saw four kids, he asked if they could have ice cream. I figured he would give them each a small sample. He actually gave them each a cup full of soft serve. We thought he might be trying to empty his machine to close up shop. Still, it was a nice gesture and we appreciated it.

Norway-That's real grass on the roof.

Ice cream consumed, we moved on around the lake and found the Fastpass entrance where we would go to watch the fireworks. There is a large area roped off where those who are able to get a Fastpass can watch the festivities. It was great. It sloped gently so it was a little easier to see over heads if you stayed at the very top of the hill. (We didn't get there soon enough to get a front row spot.)

I think we all agreed that the Epcot fireworks were much more spectacular than the Magic Kingdom had been. All, that is except the one in the stroller who actually slept through the whole noisy show. Well, we figured she would have a head start on the rest of us for the next day.